إنّ تناوب سيطرة فصيل على آخر، مع ما يُذكي ذلك من روح الانتقام الكامنة في الخلافات الحزبية، والتي ارتكبت في عصور وبلدان شتى أبشع الفظائع، هو في ذاته استبداد مرعب. وهذا بدوره يفضي في نهاية المطاف إلى استبداد أشدّ رسوخاً ودواماً، وأكثر تنظيماً.

“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism.”George Washington — The speeches, addresses and messages, of the several presidents of the United States, at the openings of Congress and at their respective inaugurations: Also, the Declaration of independence, the Constitution of the United States, and Washington's farewell address to his fellow-citizens (1825)